In general, the present invention relates to a method and means for effecting the removal of food debris and dental plaque from and from between the teeth thus exerting a cleaning action thereon.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of producing such cleaning action by employing the oral cavity containing fluid as a resonance chamber for ultrasonic vibrations applied to said fluid and to the means for implementing the same.
The incidence of dental caries and associated periodonal disease is believed, based on substantial evidence, to be connected with the presence and failure to remove food, oral, and carbohydrate debris, materia alba, pellicle, and microbial, dental plaque from and from between the teeth. The conventional manner of removing such debris and plaque is by use of a toothbrush, often aided by a dentifrice and dental floss. The lack of complete success in the education of patients in the need and use of such oral hygiene measures is well known. In addition to the problems of motivation to the daily task and implanting of such a regimen, the topography of the teeth and of the tooth-gingival interfaces, the alignment of the teeth, and the manual dexterity of the patient pose further problems in effecting a satisfactory state of prophylactic oral hygiene.
Power driven toothbrushes have been developed in response to the need to decrease the need for manual dexterity. While these devices have achieved wide acceptance, it is evident that they have not completely solved the problem and that flossing of and between the teeth is still required.
A recent preliminary summary report in The Journal of the American Dental Association, September, 1973, vol. 87, no. 3, p. 600-603, by Dr. Henry M. Goldmean indicated the effectiveness of an "ultrasonic-powered toothbrush." Such a toothbrush, however, continues to require the brushing of the individual teeth and thus may face some of the limitations of the prior state of the art.